Q Magazine Analysis

Red on white colours make the masthead stand out on the cover. Red has connotations of blood and gore which could also relate to the image on the front cover of the blood on her head, however it also has connotations of love which could be the feel the magazine wants because of the red colour scheme they chose for this specific magazine, which could be why they also included pink because pink is also associated with love. She is wearing a white dress, which is usually associated with purity and innocence. There is a strong contrast between the blood on her head related to gore and the white dress and tiara relating to beauty. The use of the colour yellow is used to make the buzz/puff stand out, yellow is also linked in on the main cover line or the banner at the top and around the rim of the entire magazine cover.

Both serif and sans serif font is used on the cover of the magazine. Serif is used on Q’s masthead, and also the buzz/puff to make them stand out from the rest of the text which uses sans serif which is more basic. Sans serif font was used for all the cover lines to be bold and easy to read against the background.

One of the main cover lines at the bottom, asks a rhetorical question which at the same time directly relates to the blood on her head, and also the images on both the contents page and double page spread.

The front cover image is of Lana Del Rey who is a well-known singer who many people love. She is featured on the front to grab the attention of the people who love her and look up to her and tempt them to buy it. Lana’s music is sort of indie rock pop which relates to Q’S usual selling genre. Her being on the front cover and the huge signature tells the audience that there will be a main story about her and her music, on a double page spread. The signature on the cover is very big and bold and easy to read from a distance.

The main cover line at the top of the page, is positioned where the typical masthead would be, Q have done this so that it is very visible and one of the first things you see when you look at the magazine.

Punctuation is heavily used on the cover lines, for example on the main cover line at the top an exclamation mark is used to emphasise the point and make you feel also guilty and prompted to do so. A question mark is also used on the lead cover line at the bottom of the page for the same effect, to make the reader think and make them want to find out the answer and want to read it. Ellipsis is used on another cover line, to make the reader really think and answer in their own way, but also to make them want to know exactly what “Everybody’s mad for…”

The positioning of her hand on her head almost suggests she is either in pain from her head bleeding or is simply fixing the position of her tiara.

Tiara’s are similar to crowns which are usually associated with royalty, her facial expression suggests she is almost looking down on the audience, because of the angle the camera was at when the image was taken. I get an almost superior vibe from the image, as though she is or feels royal even though her head is covered in blood. Her hair, makeup and dress are all very glamorous and typically beautiful which is contrasted to the blood pouring down her face. Direct gaze is used in this shot to really direct the attention to her because of the eye contact she is giving to the camera., which for the audience seems like she is directly looking at you.

Overall the magazine has a very good appearance and gives the audience a good indication of what stories will be inside. This particular magazine would appeal to an audience of the younger generation or people who are into music like Lana Del Rey, Jay-Z and Kanye west, or similar because they are the types of artist that will have stories in the magazine, because they are mentioned on the front cover. This magazine may not appeal to the older generations because it includes artists that are very fashionable now for younger generations.

On the contents page, Q carried out the red colour scheme to link all the pages together to either give the vibe of love or the opposite of gore contrasted to beauty. On the contents page the main focus is on another image of Lana Del Rey, she has the same blood dripping down her face which is similar to the front cover, to give the same impression and contrast between beauty and gore. The image of Lana is the main focus on the contents page because she is the main story in that specific magazine.

The Filo’s are also in red to make them stand out compared to the plain white background. The contents page layout is kept simple with minimal writing to focus all the attention on the main image and also the smaller ones. The writing is kept in red and black to stand out from the white background. White space is used efficiently at the top of the page where it says “contents” this is used to make it stand out and easy to find for the audience when flicking through the magazine to find it.

The Standfirst visible on the left hand side of the page above the body copy. Strait away grabs the attention of the audience “140 songs to download now!” the use of the exclamation mark makes it seem almost urgent and almost shouting at the audience to go download the songs. This indicates to the audience that there will be lots of stories relating to music and popular artists. Sans serif typeface is used to make the words easy to read and be bolder on the page. Bigger font is also used to grab the readers attention as the words are almost being screamed at the reader.

A close up shot of one of her eyes directly grabs the attention of the audience because of the direct gaze. The dripping blood that was on her head on the front cover is also in shot here, this is to once again link to the front cover and represent the contrast between beauty and gore. The shadow on the side of her cheek gives a dramatic and mysterious feel to the image, this is done to make the audience want to read the main story on page 48.

The main image on the contents page directly relates to the front cover image, this is done to attract the target reader who were initially directed to the front cover. Lana Del Rey is used because the majority of the target audience aspire to her. Lana is also used as the main image on the contents page because she is on of the main stories in the magazine. Also the fact that Lana has green eyes and is next to the red dripping blood, makes her eyes pop and directs the attention to them because red and green are complimentary colours.

The Standfirst “discover great music” below “contents” directly speaks to the audience. The lexical choice of “discover” creates a mystery in the readers mind.

Overall the contents page is very effective because the main image is very gripping, as well as the folio’s being very visible. At the same time as the contents page being very simplistic and easy to read it is also useful and easy to follow and find the specific story you want to read. It also helps to inform the reader of some articles and things that will be featured, which is gripping and makes the reader want to find out more.

The continuation of the colour red is also featured on this double page spread on the image. On the right hand side her hair is red, this could have been created by using red lighting when the image was taken or when editing the image, this is done to link the red theme on the cover contents page and the double page spread. This image of Lana is different to the other images in the magazine, in the last two she had blood dripping down her face to represent the contrast between beauty and gore, this image is different. Because this page is dedicated directly to Lana, the image of her is very glamorous and typically beautiful.

This layout is very effective because Q used a whole page for the image. This is done to really grab the attention of the audience especially when flicking through the magazine, because the page will really stand out. The contrast between light and dark on the image is also used effectively, the fact that the majority of her face is shadowed creates a mystery and gives the image an edgy feel which links to her music. The use of the out of focus white dots helps draw your eyes to the image. Because Lana’s face is in focus and the dos are out of focus suggests that she Is behind a window or something because of the lights and reflections.

The opposite page is a very simple layout but extremely effective. The use of the large letter “S” directs your attention to the page, but at the same time doesn't steal the attention away from the image of Lana. The fact that the letter doesn’t relate to Lana makes the reader want to read on and find out what word it does relate to. The fact that the page is very minimalistic, with plain white background and black writing gives a very elegant and sophisticated style which relates to Lana’s style and type of music.

The positioning of her hand and her facial expression gives a glamorous but also sexual vibe to the image which makes her seem even more beautiful, which would appeal to the target audience of the magazine. The use of the red light on her hair firstly links to the red colour scheme of the magazine, secondly this could have been done to make the image even more sexy because the colour red has connotations of love and also passion. Her makeup has changed from the previous images, she has a darker smokier eye shadow on her eyes to give a more sexy, sultry feel. Her long stiletto style nails are also seem as typically beautiful and sexy nails. And the positioning of her hand is almost as if she is scratching on her neck, also her facial expression of her eyes closed and mouth being open with teeth gritted also gives a sexual feel to the image.